At Indiana’s Marriage Ban Hearing

Yesterday the Indiana House Judiciary Committee held its hearing on the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. At one point the committee chair had to admonish the gallery for laughing at the claims of an anti-gay nutjob.

Jim Bopp, an anti-LGBT attorney who was forced out as Indiana’s representative to the Republican National Committee in 2012, told the committee that he was perplexed as to why opponents would be against a constitutional ban if same sex marriage was already illegal in Indiana. “It can only be because [the existing ban is] vulnerable,” he insisted. “They want the option of getting what they actually want, which is to change the definition marriage. And the very vulnerability of a statute as opposed to a constitutional amendment affords them a greater opportunity to get that job done.” “Even more troubling though was an argument made by one who said that the simple debate on the marriage amendment will do the damage,” Bopp added. “Well, what does that tell you? That there are some people that are so intolerant of other people’s views that a simple debate…” With that, the chairman was forced to call the committee to order as the gallery burst into laughter.

First up in the clip is a lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom, who curiously did not mention her former co-worker, who is currently serving 40 years in prison for making child pornography with her daughter.